Horse Play
by Vengeful
Summary: A strange murder at a riding barn will throw the CSI's on an emotional rollercoster as they battle their own personal feelings. NS, some GC
1. Default Chapter

**A/N: Ok, I know this is the last thing I need: another story. But, it is kind of important for some reasons that I get this story done, first priority. For now, Crazy Days, Visitor in the Night, and Gathering Strength are on hold. I should start updating those by the end of the month.**

**This IS a sequel of sorts to "Maybe It Was Memphis", so you might want to read that first. Don't worry, its short, like only 1000 words. I just can't handle finishing that one separately. Lol.**

**One last thing- this has A LOT to do with forensics. I don't know that much about it, only what I have seen on TV. If I get something wrong, TELL ME! I really need to know if I didn't get something right. Any hints or tips, I must no about!**

**Well, that's it for my exceptionally long authors note. So, read and remember to review!**

**-Emily—**

**Pairings:** Nick/Sara (duh!),

**Disclaimer:** at the moment I do not own any of this, but once I become rich, I shall buy it all and control CSI! Mwahaha. Redneck CSI! (Don't ask)

* * *

Lisa giggled as the pony nudged her gently as Lisa led the small pony into a large front pasture. As she entered the pasture, the small girl spotted something lying a bit further away in the uncut grass. Curious, the girl walked over to it. 

"Mommy! Come here!"

"Ok, but make this quick honey, we need to get home."

"Mommy, I see dead people." Lisa's voice was full of fear. Karen, her Mother started to argue as she walked up next to her daughter.

"Lisa, stop..." Her eyes widened as she set her sight upon what her daughter was looking at. She let out a blood-curdling scream as she quickly ushered Lisa away. She paused only to pick up her cell phone and dial 911.

* * *

"What have we got here?" Gil Grissom walked up to survey the scene before him as Brass explained. 

"Kimberly Aruba, 16. Found dead by a little girl. She and her Mother are over there." Grissom glanced over to a visibly shaken up young girl and her mother.

"Hey Gris." Catherine and Warrick trudged up behind Grissom. He glanced at them.

"Dead female. Warrick, Cath, start processing. And have you seen Sara and Nick?"

"Yeah, they just got back from Memphis. They should be here soon. I think they came strait from the airport." As Catherine finished saying this, Nick and Sara pulled up to the large barn.

* * *

"Sara, we have to talk about this." Nick insisted as they pulled up to the barn. They still hadn't talked about what had transpired between them that night in Memphis. 

"I know. But can we drop this for now?" Sara knew they had to talk, but she wasn't looking forward to it. Nick through a sidelong glance at her. He really hoped they could talk soon. He wasn't sure if he could take the tension. They silently climbed out of the car and walked towards the large pasture.

"Nick. Sara. Nice of you to join us." Sara just glared at Warrick. But before she could say anything back to him, Catherine spoke up.

"Hey, come take a look at this." She pointed to a scuff mare pattern in the dirt near a large tree.

"She put up a struggle." Observed Nick. Over at the body, Grissom waited for David to finish his examination.

"Looks like she suffered blunt force trauma. But I think it was a stab wound to the chest that killed her."

"What about the marks around her neck?"

"She was also strangled. I will know more after I get her back and clean her up." and with that, the body was loaded up and Grissom went back to his team.

"Have anything?"

"Well, the victim put up quite a struggle." Sara told him.

"Hey, I think I have splatter." Warrick called from his position crouched next to a white fence containing another paddock.

"Well, lets get a sample of that. You guys finish up here. I will go back with the body."

* * *

**A/N: ok, this is my first time actually writing about the forensics aspect. So, I am sure I have some things messed up. Please kindly point those things out to me. I would like to know how I could make it more realistic D. well, I know this is short, but next chapter will get longer. So, review!**

**-Emily-**


	2. what?

* * *

A/N: ya ya ya. I know I haven't updated it forever. Sorry. But I have been busy! I happen to live in Tampa, FL, where we have been threatened with THREE hurricanes. And school and riding. Not to mention trying to send telepathic messages through my mind to the folks that write CSI to put Nick and Sara together. Lol. –Looks at TV- GAH! They are way to cute. Hehe. Sry, old episode on. Oh, and a challenge for y'all. I dare one of you brave, CSI obsessed people (that's only about all of y'all. Lol), I dare you to call up a physic hotline and ask what the dude (or dudet) what they see romance wise in CSI. Hehe, I have always wanted to see what would happen. Well, read and review!

--Emily—

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, but I have a BRILLIANT plan to get them. I shall unveil it next chapter.

* * *

"Well, looks like cause of death was stab wound to the chest. It punctured the lung. She bled out." Grissom stood looking over the body as Al explained.

"What about the strange marks around the neck?" he wondered.

"Well, this is what was strange. The killer first knocked out the victim with a hard object. And then it looks like he tried to strangle the vic before stabbing him."

"So, did you find anything on the body?" Al handed him his collecting and Grissom headed out back to the crime scene.

* * *

"Hey, Sara, come take a look at this." Called out Nick. Sara walked over to where he was leaning over something.

"What is it?"

"Looks like drag marks of some sort." Catherine and Warrick looked over to where the two younger CSI's stood. The fact that they were a little closer then normal didn't go unnoticed.

"Maybe a little more happened in Memphis then they let on." Whispered Catherine.

"Wouldn't be the only office romance." Observed Warrick. Catherine rewarded that comment with a smack. But before she could say anything else, Grissom arrived back.

"Ok, so, anything found here?"

"Some drag marks, I think we might have some foot prints over here." Replied Nick.

"Get a mold of that."

"Already on it."

"Ok, Sara. Nick, why don't you two take this to Greg and see what he can get. Catherine, you go interview the witnesses. Warrick, you finish up here and I'm going to the main barn." And with that, they split up to their respected positions.

* * *

"Did you know the deceased well?" Catherine walked up to the little girl and her mother, who were very shaken up.

"No. We have seen her around, with the other teens. But we didn't know her personally." The woman's voice quivered as she answered. Brass walked up to them.

"Her alibi checks out. They were inside at the time," he said, drawing Catherine aside. "Nobody else saw anything." He added.

* * *

Grissom picked his way up to the large tan riding barn, where the victim had rode.

He wondered down the barn aisle, looking curiously at the docile animals that peered out at him through their stall doors. Tack was piled neatly near large tack trunks, temporarily forgotten.

* * *

"Sara, we have to talk about this." Sara sighed and rolled her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Nick. He pulled the car over to the side and turned it off. He turned to Sara.

"Nick, what are you doing?"

"Sara, I don't know what that night meant to you, but I want you to know that I don't want that to just have been some one night stand." He started to turn the car back on, when Sara caught his arm. She gave him a small smile.

"Neither do I." Nick let out a relieved sigh. He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He reluctantly pulled back and turned on the car. "Don't want to start anything we can't stop." He said with a chuckle, at Sara's questioning look.

* * *

**A/N: ya, I know, very short. But, I am TO BLOODY TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! School had that effect. I just really wanted to get this chapter up tonight. Hopefully I will be able to get another one in tomorrow (no school! Thank you Jewish people D). Oh, I have a challenge for y'all. Seriously, anyone here want to be brave and call a physic hotline and ask about CSI? I dare ya! I would but I cant. Lol. Anyone brave (or foolish, lol) enough, ask if there are any romances and report to me. Not that I believe in that or anything, I just think its funny! Lol. sry, its like, 11 at night, and I am hyper. Hehe. Well. Inyhoos, y'all know the drill. Review! And flames aren't nessesary. If I got something wrong, tell me nicely and tell me how I can fix it. So, go and review, and call a physic.**

**-Emily-**


	3. interviews

**

* * *

**

A/N: I was in the mood to update actually. So, here we go! And my little challenge to call a psychic and ask about CSI is still up. Lol. Well, review!

--Emily--

**Disclaimer:** if I owned it, you would see it on the show.

* * *

"Sara, Nick, I want you two to go over to the barn and talk to the riders. See if you can get some information about our victims personal life." Grissom walked into the break room to find Nick and Sara just sitting around with Catherine and Warrick.

"You got it boss." Said Nick as he and Sara pulled them selves off the couch. Grissom then glanced at Warrick and Catherine.

"I'm was just about to go and check on the blood I found at the scene." Catherine announced, getting up. Warrick followed her closely. Grissom watched as his team walked out of the room before going to work on the fibers he found around the victims neck.

* * *

From the corner of his eye, Nick glanced over at the brunette sitting next to him. She caught his glance and gave him a shy smile. Their eyes lingered for a moment before Nick snapped his attention back to his driving.

"Well, here's the place." Sara just looked at him and rolled her eyes. The pair trudged up the grassy hill to the large cream-colored barn. A few horses poked their heads out of their opened windows to see if the newcomers had any food to offer.

"Um, hi. Are you here about Kim?" a young blonde, about fourteen came up to Nick and Sara. Her large blue eyes were red and blood shot. Nick looked around as Sara answered the girl. Groups of teens were gathered together, the riders weeping for the loss of their friend. He turned back to Sara, who was asking the teen some questions.

"What is your name?"

"Emily. Emily Nickoloff" the girl replied.

"Did you know the victim?"

"Yes. We are really tight here at Galaxy. Kimberly had lessons with me a lot and her horse, Sugar, is next to my horse." Tears started to flow down the girl's cheeks again. She wiped them off hastily. "Sorry, this is just really hard." Sara didn't quite know what to say, so she just gave Emily a sympathetic look.

"Just one more question. Where are the owners of Galaxy?"

"In the office. I will show you." Sara and Nick followed the girl down the long aisle to a large room, with a desk on one end and various saddles, bridles, and other tack on the other end. Pictures of riders adorned the wall above the desk, where a small brunette woman sat, a taller redneck looking man next to her.

"Jana, Keith, these people are here to talk to you about Kim." The man, Keith, looked up.

"I actually have to go. I can talk to you later." With that, he rushed out. Emily followed suite. From outside, they could hear a new girls voice.

"What happened? Why is everyone crying?"

"Oh Stacy, someone killed Kim!" Nick heard the new girl break into sobs, followed by the sound of the girls walking away.

"Hey Ma'am. I'm Nick Stokes and this is Sara Sidle from the Las Vegas crime lab. Would you mind if we looked around and asked some questions?"

"No, not at all. We all loved Kim. Anything to help find her killer."

"When was the last time you saw the Vic?"

"Last night, she had a lesson. She had to stay late, to give Sugar a bath. She drives so we figured we could just leave. We needed to get home to Jordan, our daughter."

"And did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Any strange cars, people?" wondered Sara?

"No- but it was dark."

"Did anyone have a grudge against Kimberly? Any one with a reason to kill her that you know off?"

"No. I can't imagine anyone here wanting to hurt her."

"Well, that's all for now. But do you mind if we look around a bit and ask a few questions?"

"Take all the time you need." Replied the woman, Jana.

"Hey, Nick, come take a look at this." Sara stood in front of a row of bridles, girths, and martingales that hung on a wall. She pointed to a martingale that hung under one hook.

"What is that?"

"The... um, whatever this is looks ripped. This could match the fiber Grissom found around the Vics neck."

"What is it?"

"Who knows."? Jana looked up to see what the criminalists were looking at.

"That's a martingale. For keeping horses heads up."

"Would you mind telling us who it belongs to?"

"Not at all. Peyton. Peyton Trowds."

"Thank you. Can we take it, it could be evidence."

"Please do. Again, we will do anything we can do to help."

"Thank you." They bagged the martingale and headed out of the door.

"Well, do you want to see if we can get anything out of the other friends?" asked Nick. Sara shrugged.

"Ok, we might find out if the victim had a personal grudge with anyone." They walked onto a canopy area. 3 Wash racks stood empty on one side and 4 groom racks sat opposite. It looked like many of the teens had congregated out to the picnic table that sat near the barn entrance.

"Hi. I am Nick Stokes, this is Sara Sidle. We are part of the team investigating Kimberly's death."

"Is there anyone you know of that would want to kill Kimberly?"

"She was liked by just about everyone." Replied one girl. This one looked about the same age as Emily and wore her wave brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Yeah. I mean, of course she had some beefs with some people, but that's just high school. There is no one that would actually want to hurt her." this came from a taller girl, whose curly hair was pinned back into a messy bun. She looked slightly older then the other 2 girls they had spoken to.

"Like what kind of beefs?" Sara now gave her full attention to the girl.

"Um, well, there is a rumor that this one girl was pissed at her because she wanted Kim's boyfriend. But that was just a rumor."

"Who was this girl?"

"Lee. Lee Smith. She owns Glory."

"Thanks. We are going to need your names, if we can please have them."

"Donica. Donica Ramsed." The older girl introduced herself as.

"Christine Blorese." Said the short brunette. Another very tall, very slim girl introduced her self as Stacy Dear and a short midget introduced herself as Lauren Nickoloff.

"Thanks for your time. We will probably have more questions for you ladies later on."

"No problem" replied Emily. "We all wanna see whoever did this to Kim rot in hell."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: yah yah yah. Emily is me. And all the other riders are based on friends. And Galaxy Farms is a real barn. And IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you're in Florida, look us up! Now, review!!!!**

**--Emily--**


	4. Howdy!

**A/N: well, I certainly hope to get more reviews this time! I hope you like this one! And to all of you who wondered if Emily from the last chapter was really me, and if Lauren (the short midget) was really my sister, the answer is yes. Whether or not that's my real last name, well, that's for me to know and you not to find out. Lol. Now, go and review!!**

**Disclaimer:** if I owned this, would I be writing this during class?

-------

"Hey Greggo. Did you get the results on the fibers found on the victims neck?"

"Howdy to you to Catherine." Greg said in a fake drawl, causing Catherine to let out a small laugh.

"Well, do you have my results?" Greg rolled the lab chair over to where the results were printing out. Catherine just rolled her eyes at the young lab tech, who was glancing at the paper. He looked up at her.

"I'm still processing the hairs we found on the victims neck wound." Catherine nodded. Earlier they had discovered some brown hairs from the neck of the young victim. They had also recovered some dirt in her head wound and around her stab wound. "But" he continued, "I do have the results on the fiber you found on the Vics neck.

"And?"

"Nylon."

"Thanks. Page me when you get the rest of the results."

"I always do."

---------

"Hey Warrick." Catherine greeted as she walked into the room where her tall colleague sat at a computer. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey Cath."

"Got any hits on the Samples found on the tree?"

"Nope. CODIS gave us nothing."

"Crap. I hope Sara and Nick got something."

"Speaking of Sara and Nick, what do you think is going on between them?" Warrick had turned the chair around and now sat facing Catherine.

"I don't know anything for sure." She said slowly. "But I do think something changed between them in Memphis. I'm just not sure what how much it changed." Before Warrick could respond, the people in question walked into the room. Both looked exceptionally happy.

"Get anything from the barn?" questioned Catherine.

"We interviewed some of the riders. They all seemed pretty shook up. Said they were all pretty close. They claim they don't know of anyone who would want to hurt Kimberly." Replied Sara, her smile lessening.

"But," Nick added, "We did find out that the victim was having a spat with another girl, Lee Smith. This girl was jealous of Kimberly because she was seeing some guy."

"Sara. Nick. Find anything at the barn?" Grissom asked as he entered the room.

"As we were just telling Catherine and Warrick, the riders all seemed shook up and upset about the victims death. But one girl was having a spat with our victim. We also collected a martingale that has something sticking out. It looks like it could match the pattern on the Vics neck." Responded Nick.

"What was the spat about?"

"What else, a boy. Geeze Gris, you need to get into the groove!" smirked Sara. Catherine, Nick, and Warrick burst out in laughter at Sara's comment. Even Grissom couldn't help but smile. He looked at Catherine.

"Did Greg get our results yet?" We got the results on the fiber you found on the neck wound. Its nylon. He's still processing the rest." At the moment, Catherine's pager went off. She looked down at it and smiled.

"It's Greg. I'm gonna go see what he found."

"I'll come with you." Grissom announced, following Catherine out. Sara, Warrick, and Nick looked at each other.

"I'm going to go see if I can match the fiber found on the Vics neck to the…"

"Martingale?" Sara offered. Nick smiled gratefully at her and continued.

"Yeah, the martingale we collected at the barn."

"I guess I'll go see if I can get anything from the shoeprints we found at the scene." Warrick also got up, leaving Sara alone in the room.

--------------

"Hey Greg. You paged me?"

"Yup. I got the results on the substance you found in the Vics stab wound."

"And…"

"What do you step in not on purpose that smells?"

"Greg, Just give up the results." Grissom chose that moment to make his presence known. As Greg looked up at his boss, Catherine plucked the results from his hand. She looked at the results, and then looked at Grissom with her eyebrows raised.

"Horse manure."

"It was also all over the fiber you found in the stab wound."

"Thanks Greg." Catherine and Grissom strolled out.

"So we're looking for a weapon that would have horse manure all over it." Grissom stated.

"Well that narrows it down." Retorted Catherine sarcastically.

---------------------------

"Hey Doc. Were you able to get anything from the Vics head wound?" Sara inquired as she walked into the large room where Doc. Robbins was rinsing off the blood left on the stainless steel table from his latest autopsy.

"Hey Sara. Just a minute." He answered as he finished up the table. He limped over to where several pictured were laid out, along with a mold. Sara examined the photos and looked up at him.

"A horse shoe?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, Thanks doc."

---------------------------

As Grissom and Catherine walked down the halls, they collided with Nick.

"Hey, where's the fire Nick?" Catherine joked.

"Sorry, but we got a match. The fiber left on the victims neck matches the fiber we found on the martingale we collected from the barn."

"And who does the martingale belong to?" Nick looked over at Grissom.

"A Peyton Trowds."

"Well, lets go gather up the rest of the team and tell them what we found.

-----------------------

"So, What do we have?" Grissom and the rest of the team sat around the large table in the break room.

"Well, the weapon used to knock out or victim was a horse shoe." Sara started.

"And the shoe print we found at the scene was made by a mountain horse work boot, men's size 12."

"Men's?" questioned Nick. "Well, that's weird, the fiber we found on the Vics neck was a nylon fiber, which matched the fiber found on the martingale we collected at the barn, belonging to a Peyton Trowds."

"Ok, so Nick, Sara, go get Brass and find this Peyton Trowds. Warrick, you go and fingerprint the martingale. See if anyone other than the victim's prints are on it. Catherine, go see if you can find out who that horse shoe belongs to."

"What about you Gris?" Grissom gave Catherine a small smile.

"I'm going to the barn."

---------------------------------

A/N: I hope you liked this one! Actually, I kinda wrote this during Animal science, Biology, and English (its not MY fault I was bored!) well, I hope you enjoyed it, and this time I want to see MORE reviews! I only got like, 2 last time! So, review!

--Emily--


	5. interview

**A/N: This update is in honor of the horse show I was competing in this weekend. May I so happily add that me and my horse Pita did very very well. So, you all get an update! Lol. Well, don't just sit there! Read and review!!!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it… yet. But I have a brilliant foolproof plan! So when the police come to investigate the um, "tricking of CSI dudes", you didn't hear anything! Lol. Just kidding… they will never catch me!!!!!!!!!! Hehehe.

* * *

"Wait up Grissom!" called Catherine as she got up to follow Grissom. He turned and looked at her curiously.

"I need to get over there to find out who that horse shoe belongs to." She replied with a smile as she and Grissom headed out to the barn.

* * *

"Hey Sara, Brass is going to meet us at Peyton Trowds house in about an hour." Sara looked up at him as he got into the car with her.

"So where are we going?" she asked. Nick flashed her a grin.

"Well, I figure we have a good 45 five minutes before we need to head over to her home…" Sara playfully smacked him as a wide grin spread across her face.

"And I seem to recall we never got to finish what we started earlier."

Ten minutes later they had parked in an empty spot by a small park. Nick quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to give Sara a deep kiss. He chuckled as he pulled away.

"I've been wanting to do that since we talked earlier."

"And I've been waiting for that all day." She said as they came together in another kiss. Their tongues came together in a frenzied dance as the kiss became more urgent. As they traded passionate kisses, they lost all track of time. The shrill ring of a cell phone going off. Nick groaned as he reluctantly pulled away and picked up his cell phone.

"Stokes."

"Hey, if you can tear yourself away from making out with Sara, we do have a suspect to interview." Came Brass's amused voice.

"We weren't…"

"Oh please. Don't even try. Can you two manage to control yourselves long enough to interview her?"

"Alright. We'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up and looked at Sara, who was struggling to contain her laughter.

"We've been caught."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Sara asked.

"I, um." She laughed.

"We'll talk about it later. Right now I think we have places to be and people to interview!"

"Nice of you two to join me." Brass said dryly as Sara and Nick stepped out of the car, the young CSI's blushing profusely. He led them up to the large house where the suspect lived.

"Hello. I'm detective Jim Brass and this is Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle from the crime lab. We're here to ask Peyton Trowds some questions about the recent murder of Kimberly Aruba." Brass said as a woman opened up the door. She quickly ushered them in.

"Peyton!" she called. She turned to the group. "Want anything to drink?"

"No thanks." Nick drawled. Just then, a teenage girl came walking into the room where the all stood.

"Um, Hey. Who are you?" The girl was short with shoulder length dark brown hair with light highlights. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, and like the rest of the girls from the barn, she looked like she had been crying.

"I'm Detective Jim Brass and this is Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes from the crime lab."

"You're here about Kim." It wasn't a question but a statement. Brass nodded. Peyton walked over to a couch and motioned for them to have a seat. She glanced at her mom. "Mom, um, could we have some time alone?"

"Of course." Came the reply as the woman hurried away. Settling down, Brass paused before he started shooting off questions.

"So, how well did you know the victim?"

"Pretty well. We're all kind of like a family at the barn. And she went to my school." She wiped a tear the had leaked from her eyes.

"Did you have any problems with her?"

"Of course not! Everyone loved Kim! You don't think…" her eyes grew wide as she realized what Brass was implying.

"Well, your martingale was used to strangle her." Sara Said before Brass could reply.

"What?" Peyton looked at Sara with a shocked expression. "

"Well, can you explain it then?" Nick asked gently.

"No! I would never do anything to hurt Kim! Someone must have taken it and used it and then returned it to my rack. Oh my god, I can not believe this!"

"Do you know of anyone who would have a possible motive for doing that?" Sara questioned.

"I don't think so."

"Any one you didn't get along with?"

"Well, there is Lee Smith. But it wasn't that bad!" She said. Nick and Sara looked at each other. It was time they talked to this Lee Smith.

"Well, thank you for your time. We might have some further questions for you later on in the investigation." Brass said as the trio walked out into the cool December air.

"Ok. Feel free to ask away. I have nothing to hide." Peyton said, her dark eyes tearing up.

--------------------------------

"One Two One Two One Two One." Grissom watched in amazement as the horse and rider approached the large jump. He couldn't really understand why the rider was counting up to it though.

"How do you think that spot worked out?" asked the trainer as the rider pulled her horse to a halt.

"A little tight but good."

"It could have been a bit better, but good job. I think we can end with that."

"Thanks Jana." The girl turned her horse away as Jana walked over to where Grissom stood observing the lesson.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm Gil Grissom from the Las Vegas crime lab."

"Oh, ok. Hi. I'm the owner of this barn, Jana. I already talked to two of the investigators though." She said, confused.

"I know." Grissom glanced over at the field behind her where the lesson had been conducted. "Why were you counting?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"To find the distance to the jump. You want the horse to leave the ground at the right moment so that you go over the jump nicely." She explained. Grissom nodded, still confused.

"Yeah. Ok. Well, mind if I take a look around?"

"No, not at all."

"Thanks." He turned and walked towards the barn where the riders were tacking up and hosing down horses. As he walked into the canopy area, a small pick on the ground caught his eye.

"Um, what is this?" he asked a teenage girl.

"A hoof pick. We use it to pick out manure and dirt and stuff from the horses hooves."

"Would you mind if I took this back to the lab?" The girl raised an eyebrow and she looked at him.

"Uh, ok. Sure."

"Thanks." He said. He smiled as he bagged the small hoof pick. He had a strong suspicion that he had just figured out what had been used to stab the victim.

* * *

**A/N: ok, several things. First, yes, I actually –gasp- included fluff. If I sucked, I am very sorry. Tell me and I will never try again. But if it wasn't that bad, feel free to tell me that to. Lol. Also, the part where she is riding the horse, the counting is entirely true. We count our rhythm to jumps so we can find a good distance to jump at. It's not as confusing as it sounds. But it is hard. Well, REVIEW!!!!**

**--Emily--**


	6. ferrier

**A/N: She lives to write! Lol. I do hope you enjoy this little chapter. Please review.**

**Oh, and special note. I made a mistake when I said a martingale is for keeping a horse's head down. A martingale is for keeping a horse's head up! Sorry about that!**

**--Emily--**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything yet. But I will! Oh, yes, I will own it all. I just don't now.

* * *

"So, When was the last time the Ferrier was out?" Catherine sat across from Jana in the office of Galaxy Farms.

"Tuesday."

"Which horses had shoes removed?"

"Um… Lady, Even, Glory, and Zing."

"Would this shoe belong to any of them?" Catherine showed her the pictures of the shoe, along with the measurements.

"Well, It cant be Lady or Zing, its to big. It might be Glory, but I can't be completely sure."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Catherine smiled as she stood to get up.

"We will do anything to help you find Kim's killer." Before going out the door, Catherine paused for a moment.

"Who is you Ferrier?"

"Robby. Robby Santos."

"Thanks." As she walked out, she bumped into a girl. The girl, like the others, was a teenager, about sixteen. She was medium height with blond hair. She rudely shoved past Catherine, giving the older woman only a glare.

"Lee, you have a lesson at one." Catherine turned around with a wry smile.

"Lee. Lee Smith?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Catherine Willows, from the Las Vegas crime lab. I would like to ask you a few questions about the death of Kimberly Aruba." The teen let out a sigh.

"Whatever." Catherine was not liking this girl. She could see why Kimberly might not have been fond of this girl. Sitting down at the bench, Catherine began questioning the girl.

"Is it true you were in some kind of fight with Kimberly?"

"Yeah. I didn't like her. It doesn't me I like, killed her or anything. Listen, I need to get ready and on for my lesson. Okay?" Catherine bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything she might regret to the girl.

"We might need to talk to you later on in the investigation. But you can go."

"Whatever." With that, Lee Smith turned and walked off. Catherine stood and walked to where Grissom was waiting in the car.

"Well, I just met Lee Smith."

"And…"

"I can see why our victim might have hated her." She simply stated.

"Okay, well, did you get anything on the horseshoe?"

"The trainer told me it belonged to the horses Even or Glory. And the Ferrier is Robby Santos. She gave me his card."

"Well, why don't we go talk to him?" She handed Grissom the card and they quickly drove to the address listed.

Twenty minutes later they stood on the porch of a modest one story home in a small rural area right outside of the city. Grissom rang the doorbell and stepped back. A moment later, a man in his twenties opened the door.

"Hello. I'm Gil Grissom and this is Catherine Willows. We're from the Las Vegas crime lab. We would like to ask you some questions about Kimberly Aruba." He opened the door wider and motioned for the pair to come in.

"Yeah. Shame what happened to her. I didn't know her well, but she seemed like a sweet kid. Great little mare, Sugar." He smiled sadly.

"Last Tuesday, You were shoeing horses at Galaxy Farms, right?"

"Yup. I did four horses."

"Did anybody ask for a horseshoe, to keep?"

"Listen, I really wish I could help you out but a lot of people ask for horseshoes to keep. I really don't keep track of who asks."

"Oh, ok. Just on more question. Do you know who this shoe belongs to?" Catherine handed him the picture of the horseshoe mold and the measurements.

"Oh yeah, this belongs to Glory." He said almost immediately."

"Thank you for your time. We'll contact you if we have any more questions."

"Glory. Doesn't she belong to Lee Smith?" asked Catherine as they left the home.

"That she does."

"We need to find that horseshoe."

Grissom nodded in agreement as he drove them back to the lab. When they reached it, Grissom headed down to the break room, where Warrick, Nick, Sara, and Greg sat.

"Ok, we found out the shoe belongs to Glory. Owned by Lee Smith. I think we might also know what was used to stab the victim.

"What?" asked Sara.

"A hoof pick. Used to pick out manure and dirt from a horses hoof. We need to compare the weapon to the wound. I'm about to go do that. Nick, Sara, did you get anything from Peyton Trowds?"

"She said she also had a beef with Lee Smith. And her alibi checks out. She was at play practice at the time of the murder."

"Alright. I'm going to see if we have our stabbing weapon." He turned and left to try out the hoof pick he had. A while later, he came back to the break room, where the team still sat.

"We have our weapon. Come on, we're going to the barn. I already called Brass and asked him to get a search warrant." He said with a smile.

* * *

**A/N: Really short, I know. So very sorry. But please review anyway; I really want to hear from you!**

**--Emily--**


	7. sleepy

**A/N: sorry for the lack of updates. I have been busy with school and my horses (finally I can ride my pony Lady again. Yeah!) Well, only a few more chapters to go (I'm thinking 3 or 4) well, please review!**

**--Emily—**

**Disclaimer:** Nothing belongs to me. Well, except for the characters you don't recognize, those are mine.

* * *

Brass met the CSI's at Galaxy farms, armed with a search warrant for the tack trunks and tack room of the barn.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" Asked Jana as she saw the rather large group coming into the office.

"We have a warrant to search the trunks and tack room. We need you and everyone else to come with me and wait outside." The woman nodded mutely and got out of the seat. She walked with Brass to the aisle.

"Everyone please clear the area. We have a warrant." Announced Brass. A murmur of voices echoed through the aisle as the riders quickly worked on getting their horses put up. Sara noticed the blond girl Emily she had seen before staying put in the wash racks, still hosing down her gelding.

"Excuse me, miss, can you please put up your horse?" The teen looked up at her. Pushing a strand of her sweaty hair that had escaped from her ponytail, she frowned.

"Can't I finish with my horse?"

"Emily, take him down to the little barn." Jana interrupted. She rolled her eyes but obediently turned of the hose and attached the horses' lead rope.

"Come on Pita." she whispered to the horse, which just nudged her shoulder, drawing a smile from her. Sara couldn't help but grin slightly at the interaction between a girl and her horse.

"Sara?" She looked up at Nick's voice.

"Sorry." He chuckled.

"Well, we have a lot of trunks to got through. Care to help?" She smiled at him as she headed back into the barn.

"Sara, Nick, you take this end. Catherine, Warrick, you take the other end. I'll take the tack room." Grissom instructed. No one questioned these instructions as they each went to their tasks. Nick Grimaced as he opened the first trunk.

"Oh God. How much crap can one girl stuff in a trunk?" he wondered as he looked into the wooden trunk. Sara walked over and frowned.

"Wow."

"You can say that again." he grumbled. He reached a tentative hand into the messy space and began the tedious task of shifting through it. Sara shook her head as she went back to the much neater trunk across the aisle. The victim's trunk had actually been across the aisle, but it had already been processed.

"Sara. I'm scared." She turned and raised an eyebrow. She laughed when she saw what Nick held up. It was a pair of children's underwear. Scattered in front of the trunk were various objects. Crops, chaps, helmets, boots, and other objects, which were unfamiliar to Sara.

"How the hell did underwear wind up in her trunk?" He asked out loud. Sara shrugged.

"Find anything else in there?" He shook his head.

"No, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if this thing ate more. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some small child falls in someday and never comes out!" He exclaimed. Sara rolled her eyes.

"What about a hoof pick?" Nick nodded and rummaged through the junk. Locating the item, he picked it up and sprayed it with luminal. Nothing.

Twenty minutes later, nothing had turned up. Suddenly, a wide grin spread across Nicks face.

"I've got something!" He announced, holding up a hoof pick, the luminal clearly showing blood.

"Bag it and keep looking." Grissom said, poking his head out from the tack room.

"Hey, I think I have something." Warrick called out.

"Another hoof pick?" Said Nick, looking at what Warrick held up. He shrugged.

Forty-five minutes later, all the tack trunks had been thoroughly searched through. Grissom however was still occupied in the tack room. The group had grown impatient after searching through the many trunks, most of which were extremely mess, though none quite as bad as the first on Nick had looked at. Suddenly, Grissom emerged from the tack room, a smile playing on his lips.

"What did you find?" asked Catherine, recognizing the smile. Grissom held up a horseshoe.

"Where did you find it?" wondered Nick.

"Hidden between the saddle pads." He replied.

"Well, lets just hope that our killer left some prints." Everyone had to agree with Warrick. Grissom looked the team over.

"Lets head back to the lab and get this evidence in. Then why don't you guys go get some rest."

"Ok." They eagerly agreed. Catherine and Warrick looked at each other knowingly as they noticed Nick and Sara grinning widely at each other.

Back at the lab, Nick was all too happy to get the evidence logged in and give the Hoof picks to Greg for comparison. When he got into the locker room, he was relieved to find that only Sara was there. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You want to come over?" he whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"Nick, we need to sleep."

"What about just for breakfast?" She turned around and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Alright. Just for breakfast. I'll be over in thirty minutes." She kissed him once more before heading to the shower. Nick couldn't get home fast enough.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exactly thirty minutes later, Sara arrived at Nicks house. He opened the door and ushered her in almost immediately.

"So, what's for breakfast?" She asked. He chuckled.

"Pancakes."

"Good." She followed him to the kitchen where the food was already waiting.

"These are good." She commented, taking a bite. They talked about nothing in particular throughout the meal. After, they sat down on his couch. Sara snuggled up next to him and leaned up to kiss him. He eagerly responded as he allowed himself to get lost in her kiss. Their kiss quickly became more passionate as Nick's hands found their way under her back and Sara tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"Mmm Nick." She mumbled against his lips, half-heartedly trying to pull away. He frowned at the loss of contact and looked at her in confusion.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"Nick, as much as I want you, I need sleep." Sara was torn between her want for him and her need for rest.

"Stay." She looked longingly at him and smiled sadly. "Just to sleep. Please?" She sighed. Why did he have to be so damn good looking?

"Alright. But we are just sleeping." She said sternly.

"Just sleep." He agreed. She smiled at him and kissed him.

"Now, do you have anything I can sleep in?"

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to put in some fluff for you, but I'm not very good at it. Just a quick note. The part about finding underwear in a tack trunk is actually true. The trunk Nick first examined is based on my friends tack trunk. And she actually did find underwear in there I believe. It was either that or it ate some underwear (no one is quite sure why it was in there in the first place.) anyways, it is a very scary thing that tack trunk. Well, I hope you enjoyed this post. Please, review!**

**--Emily--**


	8. stupid redneck

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming! Oh, just one thing. This story was really started before all these big changes came up on the show. So, none of the recent changes are in this story. Just thought you should be reminded of that! Now, go and review!**

**-Emily-**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you see.

* * *

"Grissom! When I get the results, I will tell you!" Said an exasperated Greg for what seemed like the millionth time. Grissom had been practically leaning over Greg's shoulder for the past few hours, waiting on the results from the blood found on the hoof picks and the horseshoe.

"Grissom! Come here!" Catherine said, poking her head in the room. Greg gave her a look of gratitude.

"Thanks Cath. But, do you think you can occupy him for just a little bit longer?" Catherine laughed. Shaking her head.

"Page us with the results. Come on Grissom, we found a match for the fingerprints found on the horseshoe."

"So, who's the lucky person?" questioned Grissom as he followed her to the machine.

"Take a look for yourself." Grissom smiled as he took a look.

"The trainers husband." Catherine nodded. She was about to say something when a beeper went off. Grissom looked down.

"It's Greg. He has the results." Catherine wordlessly followed Him to the DNA lab.

"Ok, The blood on the shoe matched that of the victim. And as for the hoof picks, the blood on the one you found in Lee's trunk matches the victims. The one found in Emily's came back unknown." Grissom nodded. He turned to Catherine.

"Call Nick, Sara, and Warrick. I'll call Brass and see if we can bring in Keith, Lee, and Emily.

* * *

The phone's ring brought Nick from his sleep. He smiled as he looked at the figure cuddled up next to him. He turned, trying no to rouse he as he answered the phone.

"Stokes."

"Nick, Its Catherine. We got the DNA results."

"Ok, I'll be right in."

"Oh, and tell Sara too." Said Catherine with a chuckle.

"I will." Replied Nick sheepishly. He hung up the phone and turned towards Sara. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Who was that?" she mumbles.

"Catherine. They got the DNA results. She wants us to come in." Sara sighed.

"Alright. Can I take a shower first?" He kissed her softly.

"Sure."

Forty-five minutes later, they met up with Catherine at the lab. She looked at them slyly.

"Have a good night?" Sara rolled her eyes.

"Don't we have some results to look at?" She snapped.

"Oh yeah. Blood on the horseshoe and the hoof pick found in the Lee Smith's trunk match the Vics. The blood on the hoof pick found in Emily Nickoloff's trunk came back unknown. Brass in bringing them in as we speak."

"Is Warrick here?"

"Yup. You two are the last one's in." Catherine paused for a moment before glancing between the two of them. "You aren't trying to keep things between you a secret, are you? Because if you are, you're doing a horrible job." Sara blushed.

"Catherine, what we do outside of work is our business. But since everyone seems so intent on knowing about our personal lives, we're not going to try to hide It." drawled Nick.

"No that it makes any difference. Everyone already seems to know." mused Sara. Catherine shrugged.

"No, not everyone. Greg and Grissom probably don't know." she said only to be met with Sara's not so amused glare.

"Cath, Brass has Keith and Lee in interrogation." Warrick called as he walked towards the three.

"What about Emily?" wondered Catherine.

Warrick smirked. "She said it was her blood, and gave us a sample. It turns out she stabbed herself while cleaning out her horses' hoof.

"Wow." Remarked Sara.

"Yeah. So, that's just a pure case of stupidity. Now come on, we have two other not so bright criminals waiting for us."

They walked over with Warrick to the interrogation room where Keith was. Lee occupied a neighboring room. Brass and Grissom walked into the room where Keith sat.

"Whatcha want now?" asked the man, obviously bored with the whole thing.

"We found the horseshoe." Brass said. A brief flash of panic filled Keith's eyes.

"I uh… I don't know what you mean." He said, regaining his composure.

"Ah, give it up. We've got you for murder."

"Don't I at least get a lawyer or something like that?" whined the man. Brass shrugged.

"Yeah. I don't see what good it'll do you though. Admit it. You're screwed." Keith just stared at the detective.

"Now, I personally don't think you were in this alone. I just find it hard to believe that you would be that smart. So, tell me who put you up to it, and maybe we can cut a deal." As Brass talked, Grissom looked down at the mans feet.

"Mountain horse work boots. Looks to be about the same size as the prints we found at the scene. How much would you like to be that we could match them with the ones at the scene?" Said Grissom with a slight smile.

"Alright. All right. You've got me. But I swear, it wasn't my idea. I didn't want to I just…"

"You just what?" asked Brass.

"I needed the money." Mumbled Keith.

"For what?"

"I needed some things for my cows." From behind the glass window, the rest of the team tried to suppress their laughter.

Brass looked at the man. "Who hired you?"

"Lee Smith." He replied without hesitation.

"How much did she pay you?"

"She said she's pay me five thousand."

"Said?" questioned Brass.

"Yeah. She hasn't paid me yet." Came the answer. Brass shook his head.

"So, let me get this strait. You killed a woman with only the promise of cash from a teen?" Keith looked down.

"She signed a piece of paper." He grumbled.

"Was this paper a legal one?"

"No."

"May I ask you one more question?"

"Ok."

"How STUPID can you be? Now you're going to get all the blame and she's going to walk out of here. Unless you can get us some solid evidence that she hired you." Stated Brass. Keith's eyes widened in horror as he ruminated on what Brass had just said.

"Alright. She sent me a piece of paper, one she wrote. With specific instructions and stuff. Its at home, in a filing cabinet."

"Thank you very much. We'll look." Keith looked up at Grissom, his eyes filled with fear.

"She's not going to leave me here to take the blame? Right?"

"Hopefully not." Replied the older man. As Brass and Grissom walked out, Brass turned to Grissom.

"I guess now we talk to blondey over there." He said, motioning to where Lee sat looking like she thought the whole thing was stupid.

Grissom nodded. "She's the mastermind."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked this one. Please, leave me a review.**

**-Emily-**


	9. face to face

**A/N: Well, I know it has been a long time since I updated. There has been a lot of stuff going on that has really been affecting me. You see, I might have to sell my horse Pita, who if you noticed as been mentioned in many of my stories, this one included. You must understand that horses are my life. Having to sell Pita is worse than say… CSI being cancelled. So, that has been hell on me.**

**Also, I will be adding some GC romance into this story. One reviewer emailed me, requesting that I add it. And if you ask me to add something, I will almost always add it (unless its GS… then that will not appear.) So, again, sorry for the delay. Please, review. I love to hear what you think.**

**Emily—**

**Disclaimer:** All CSI characters belong to some really rich dudes. Believe me… If I owned it, I would not be sitting at home right now.

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to all those riding at the Las Vegas Show Jumping and Dressage World Cup Finals. None of those competing in that are probably reading this… but that's ok. Good Luck anyways!

"Are you guys done with me yet? I have things to do." whined Lee as Catherine, Grissom, and Brass joined her in the second interrogation room.

"You better get comfortable, because we're not even close." Spat Brass.

"Whatever. Isn't this like, police brutality?" she sneered.

"Not when we have evidence linking you to a murder." Lee looked up.

"What murder?"

"The murder of Kimberly Aruba." Said Grissom before Brass could snap back with his own rude comment.

"I didn't touch her."

"We have witnesses that claim you were in some type of feud with the victim." Said Catherine. Lee rolled her eyes.

"I don't like a lot of people. That doesn't mean I go around killing them all." From behind the glass window, Sara, Nick, and Warrick stood, observing the interrogation.

"You know, she's just like those girls who made my life miserable in high school." Stated Sara.

"I bet they were just jealous." Nick said. Sara smiled up at him.

"My God, you two. Your almost as obvious as those two." He motioned towards Grissom and Catherine.

"Nah." Replied Nick. "I made my move. Grissom still has yet to make his." Warrick just chuckled and turned his attention back towards the window.

"Lee, give it up. Keith told us everything." She laughed.

"And you're going to take the word of a stupid redneck over mwa?" Catherine and Grissom exchanged glances. It seemed it would be harder then they thought to get Lee to break.

"We have the bloody hoof pick in your trunk."

"Anyone could have placed it there. I don't have a lock."

"Your fingerprints were on it." Said Grissom.

"I use it a lot. I do have to pick out my horses' feet you know." Brass leaned forward, so he was face to face with the teenaged girl.

"Listen missy, we are going to get you. And you're going to be going away to a place where they don't take sarcasm so well." Lee just sat, staring back at him.

"Prove it." She smirked.

"We have evidence that you paid off Keith to kill Kimberly."

"Well, why would I want to do that?" she asked, her question directed towards Brass.

"You were jealous of her boyfriend. You wanted her out of the way. We have the paper Lee. Give it up."

"You know, I think I want to talk to my lawyer now." She said softly, her eyes moving downwards towards the table. Grissom and Catherine left, leaving Brass to deal with the lawyer.

"I think she was almost at the breaking point." Said Catherine as she and Grissom walked towards the others. He nodded.

"But we do need to find that slip of paper."

"Already done." They looked up at Warrick's voice.

"It's down being printed and comparing it to a handwriting sample of Lee's. Grissom nodded.

"Good job. Why don't you tell Nick and Sara to head back home? Tell them to get some rest before shift tonight. Warrick nodded and walked away.

"Catherine, Grissom, Lee's lawyer just arrived." Brass came up behind them.

"So soon?" Catherine said, raising an eyebrow.

"He was in the building already." Explained Brass. Catherine nodded. She turned to Grissom.

"Want me to find out what's going on with the evidence?"

"Please. I'll meet you in the interrogation room." Catherine walked away in the direction of the sample and Grissom followed Brass back to the room where Lee and her Lawyer were stationed.

"Well, that was fast." Said the lawyer.

"We have evidence linking to your client to the murder of Kimberly Aruba." Stated Grissom.

"You have a redneck who claims to have been paid by my client to kill another girl. You have a hoof pick, which could have been planted by anyone into my clients trunk."

"We also have a slip of paper that your client wrote telling Keith that she would pay him to commit the murder. It also had how to do it." Replied Grissom.

"And just where is that paper?" Asked the lawyer.

"It's being processed right now. Catherine Willows, another one of the CSI's on the case is getting it as we speak." Brass looked at Lee.

"Admit it, your screwed. We've got you for murder." The lawyer just looked at him.

"I would like to see this paper."

"Can do." She looked up to see Catherine entering the room, out of breath. She looked at Grissom. "It's a match." She put the evidence bag on the table, along with the results.

"This handwriting matched that of your clients perfectly. It also has her fingerprints all over it." Lee scowled.

"Alright, I did it? Happy now? I had him kill the stupid bitch. But the dumb redneck didn't even do it right! She deserved to die; she was always stealing things from me. She stole Stuart from me. He would have been mine."

"Lee, I advise you not to say another word." Lee glared at the detective.

"Any further questions you can ask my lawyer."

"No, I think that's all." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"Lee Smith, You are under arrest for the murder of Kimberly Aruba…" Grissom and Catherine exchanged satisfied grins as the left the room.

"Hey Catherine?"

"Yeah?" She said, looking at Grissom. He shifted his weight a bit and looked down.

"I was thinking, would you like to go out sometime?"

"Like on a date?" She asked, highly amused at Grissom's obvious discomfort.

"Uh, yeah… that is if you want it to be." She smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd finally get around to asking me." He looked at her, shocked.

"Is that a yes?" She grinned.

"That's an I'd love to. When?"

"How about tonight?" She smiled.

"Sounds great."

* * *

**A/N: Well folks, this is the second to last chapter. I added some GC for those who asked for it. There will be more GC and more NS in the last chapter. Hopefully it won't take me as long to get that one up.**

**Well, review!**

**Emily**


End file.
